Development Board Profile:
Alter Holand

Businessman Alter Holand emigrated with his family from Cuba just before the Bay of Pigs crisis, and he has never lost his gratitude to the country and the city, Brownsville, that welcomed him as a boy.

Now a successful investor in Valley restaurants and hotels, Holand feels a strong obligation to contribute something back to the community in which he was educated, and to the college that launched his business career.  He recently joined the UTB/TSC Development Board, helping to raise funds for needed educational programs.

“I was very fortunate to have Texas Southmost College,” said Holand, who attended the school from 1966 to 1968. “TSC helped me -- it opened my eyes. It taught me what it was like to be in a college atmosphere. It was small enough to where the teachers knew you and took an interest in you. It matured me.”

Holand recalled that the late TSC President Dr. Arnulfo L. Oliveira was principal at his middle school, then his high school and then his college. Oliveira was even a sponsor when Holand was granted U.S. citizenship as a Brownsville High School senior in 1966.

Holand went on from TSC to graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. His family owned and operated a department store in McAllen for many years.

While he is now based in McAllen, Holand retains a fond connection with his many friends – and his alma mater -- in Brownsville.

“It’s time to pay back. UTB and TSC together are a great institution. It is something so needed down here in the Valley because so many of the kids are unable to go away to college because of financial constraints or family constraints. It’s filling a huge void.”

Holand and his family immigrated to Texas in 1960, after Fidel Castro came to power. Holand’s father had been in business and in government under Castro’s predecessor, and joined thousands of Cubans who came to the United States at that time of great unrest.

In his other civic involvement, Holand is proud to serve on the Board of Visitors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He is also active with his local Temple Emmanuel in McAllen. But he gladly shares his talents further down the Valley.

“Brownsville -- what a wonderful place to grow up. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Holand. “Every time I go to Brownsville, it’s like going home.”